Stone Soup
by Rimlock
Summary: After a long day of expeditions, five hungry pets were forced to endure an unsatisfying dinner. Despite their situation, one tiny hedgehog wanted to try making something for the first time. He called it "stone soup."


A/N: This is a prompt submission for EFB! This month's theme is "Folktales," so I decided on a Hungarian folktale under the same name. I didn't write this with an empty stomach (totally). This story is different from anything I've written as it stars pets instead of the El Search Party. Anyway, I had fun with it!

* * *

When night approaches Feita, five pets returned to the campground from their expedition, just in time for dinner. They were Miho, Hoya, Death, Uniring, and Eddy the baby ice hedgehog. While each came from different owners, there is one thing they all have in common: a very ferocious appetite.

Unfortunately for them, there is a food shortage problem, so each pet could only be given a limited portion of food. Of course, they aren't happy about this change.

"Hoya, can I trade my bread for your apple?" Miho asked, a white kumiho donning a dress and ribbons.

The fox boy dubbed as 'Hoya' faces his back toward her to shield the red fruit in his hands. "Not a chance!" he sharply denied. "Besides, you've already stolen from Uniring. I would rather eat bricks than give you my last apple!"

"Grrr, why do you have to be so selfish about it?" Miho pouted angrily, her ears twitching. She bared her claws at him. "If you're going to be like that, then...I'll just take it by force!"

Hoya reached for his katana. "Sure, come at me. The winner shall get the apple!"

"Don't underestimate me, baggy. My knowledge stretches further than yours by one thousand years!"

"...There they go again." Death sighed, sitting with his half-eaten cracker. He adjusted his hoodie when the wind blew in from the battle. "Uniring, are you alright with her taking your berries like that?" he asked. When met with silence, he looked at the dark bringer. "Why, you're eating my jerky!"

Uniring swallowed the piece of meat. "Oh...sorry, I thought it was my basket." she apologized before relocating hers. "To answer your question...mm...it's okay, I don't like berries anyway. Although, I do wish there was more food." Soft-spoken and quiet, Uniring is generally inexpressive with an absent-minded demeanor.

The reaper sighed, his stomach growling. "I know...this sucks. Do the humans truly think this measly amount will be enough? We deserve better after working our butts off today. Don't you agree, Eddy? ...Eddy?"

Death checked on the youngest pet on their team. The hedgehog has mysteriously disappeared, but his basket is seen on the ground. Just as he expected, it's empty_. "Of course it is. Eddy always eats fast for a little guy."_ he thought, smirking to himself. _"Right now, he's probably trying to allure the knights for some more."_

Just as Death sipped his water cup, a blue and white blur stepped in front of his vision. It was Eddy, placing a water-filled clay pot on top of their little bonfire.

He choked on his drink in surprise. "Wh-what are you doing?

The baby pet looked up, having heard his coughs. "I'm still hungry, so I'm making stone soup," he replied.

The reaper blinked. "What is...stone soup?"

"It's soup cooked with a stone. My master made it before and it was so good!"

Eddy tossed a large stone into the pot with a bit of a struggle, making plop sound when it hit the water. He grabbed a wooden spoon to stir it, however, he is too short.

"Let me help you with that," said Death, taking the spoon to stir in the toddler's stead. After a few minutes, he scooped a little to allow Eddy to taste it.

"Is it good?" he asked, curious if soup can be made delicious with just a stone. This has definitely piqued his interest.

The hedgehog smacked his lips. "This soup is good enough, but it would taste great with some potatoes."

"I have a potato. Give me a second."

Death returned with the starch and added it into the pot. He watched as the boiling water slowly changes into a light cream color.

Several minutes later, Hoya and Miho went into a stalemate when they smelled something cooking in the air. Curious, they immediately went to check it out.

"What are you guys making?" Hoya was the first to ask while Miho took a good look at what's inside the pot. "And what is a stone doing in there?"

"We're making stone soup!" Eddy bubbled as he's happy to see more joined in.

Death holds the spoon in front of the foxy duo. "Now that you two finally stopped fooling around, try some and tell us what else we should put in."

After tasting the soup, their faces brightened up with delight. The potato has broken apart to give the soup a somewhat creamy texture. Yummy.

"It's not bad. Perhaps adding my carrots would improve it," said Miho.

The fox boy, on the other hand, has a different idea. "No, let's add the apple for extra flavor!" he suggested, which is met with disgust by the kumiho.

However, Eddy's beady eyes sparkled. "Wow, apple sounds so good right now!" he perked. "And I like carrots too. How about we use both?"

After agreeing, Hoya chopped up both ingredients and puts them in the pot. A distinctive fruity scent rises in the air as it cooks. Death stirred it and tried it while the pets watched with anticipation. "It's good, but something is still missing…"

Uniring walked into the scene with her basket in hand, having overheard everything from where she sat.

"I heard soup is usually cooked with rice," said Eddy. "I had some, but I already ate it all…"

Uniring took out a small bowl of wild rice. "You can use my share," she offered, which puts a smile on everyone's faces. After tossing the content into the pot, she took a deep whiff at it. "Mm...some salt would make it even better."

"You're right, but where can we get salt?" Death wondered.

Miho snapped her fingers. Oh, I know!" the kumiho beamed. She grabbed something from her basket and hold it out for them to see. It's a handful of salted el tree seeds. "We can let these soak into the soup to achieve that buttery and salty flavor. They can even be munch on afterward as a nice snack."

Hoya couldn't help but let out excitable noise. "I'm impressed, Miho. You are pretty smart just like you said, haha." he complimented. His words caught the fox spirit off guard, causing her cheeks envelope in red. She bashfully averted her eyes.

"O-Of course, I am. However, I still think adding apples in the soup is gross!"

* * *

They stirred the pot and let it cook until it's ready to eat. The soup was the color of rich caramel sauce and the texture is softened thanks to the potato and apple bits. Its unique smell is enough to make anyone's mouth water.

After each pet served themselves a bowl, they sat around the campfire and start tasting their creation.

Miho gasped after the first bite. "You know what, Hoya? I was wrong. The apple really enhanced the flavor a lot!" she admitted.

Death nodded in agreement. "I agree. The sweetness balanced the saltiness perfectly in my opinion."

"See, I told you. Nothing can ever go wrong with an apple!" Hoya laughed.

Uniring quietly ate with a fulfilling look on her face. "Delicious…" she muttered, savoring it with her eyes closed.

Meanwhile, Eddy already finished his bowl. He burped while patting on his bloated stomach, finally full and satisfied.

"Say, Eddy. I didn't know that you can make soup out of a stone," said Death. "Is there a secret behind it?"

"Secret? Um...dunno." the hedgehog shrugged. "Back then, my master was starving, so he made stone soup in this old lady's house. She was so nice for helping us cook despite being strangers. All those veggies and meat she gave us made it so much tastier."

The others took a nervous glump as they're starting to understand something. "So, did your master just ate the soup and leave?"

Eddy smiled, completely oblivious of what they're thinking. "Yep. He even sold the stone to her."

_**THE MASTER TRICKED THAT POOR OLD WOMAN!**_

"Why didn't you stopped your master!?" Hoya scolded him.

Eddy tilted his head in confusion. "...I don't understand. Did my master do something wrong?"

"I mean-"

Miho cuts off Hoya. "It's not Eddy's fault. He's far too young and inexperienced to understand the concept of manipulation," she explained.

"What is mani...pulation?" the hedgehog inquired.

Death chuckled, finding the turn of events rather amusing. "Well, does this mean we've been duped by Eddy then?"

Meanwhile, Uniring peeked at the stone in the pot. "Pardon me for interrupting, but doesn't the stone look a bit strange?" she asked them. "It has a purple hue."

Everyone went silent as the bonfire continues to crackle.

"...Eddy, where did you get this stone?" Miho asked, sweat dropping.

"Oh, I found it in the forest. Doesn't it look so cool?" he bubbly answered. "It was stuck on a boulder, so I had to pull extra hard to get it out."

"I don't think that was just some boulder, Eddy. You've taken a stone golem's-"

All of a sudden, a booming voice is heard as the ground started shaking "LEG. MY. LEG. GIVE. ME. BACK. MY. LEG!" it cried with every thump.

And so, on that night, the five pets learned the important lesson of sharing a meal...and faced the wrath of a very, very angry stone golem.

**THE END**


End file.
